Laoang mayor seeks ECQ to contain spread of virus
Due to the surge of COVID-19 inside the jail facility
TACLOBAN CITY – The mayor of Laoang town in Northern Samar had made a request to place under enhanced community quarantine(ECQ) the village where the subprovincial jail is located which has infected many of its jail guards and inmates.
In a communication addressed to Regional Director Lord Byron Torrecarion, who chairs the Regional Task Force on COVID-19, Mayor Harris Ongchuan want Barangay Doña Luisa be placed under ECQ as part of their zoning containment strategy against further spread of the coronavirus disease(COVID-19).
The Laoang subprovincial jail in Brgy. Doña Luisa, about 1.5 kms away from the town center, recorded 58 new COVID-19 cases based on the report of the Department of Health (DOH) here in the region.
Last Oct.9, seven inmates were confirmed to acquired COVID-19. Mayor Ongchuan immediately placed the entire facility under lockdown.
This means that as of Thursday (Oct.15), there are now 53 inmates and 15 jail guards who were tested positive of COVID-19 at the jail facility.
“While we are doing our best to contain the spread of the virus inside this detention facility, we are uncertain as to the extent of affectation specially that some of the Covid-infected are jail guards who in and out of the facility”, Mayor Ongchuan said on letter to Torrecarion on Wednesday (Oct.14).
“In this connection, we respectfully request for your approval to place Brgy. Doña Luisa where the Laoang subprovincial jail is located under ECQ as part of the zoning containment strategy,”he added.
Ongchuan also said that in just a week, COVID-19 cases in the municipality had increased to 67, the mayor said.
Ongchuan also said that a health worker and a government employee of their town were also infected of the dreaded virus. Both are confined at the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital in Catarman.
The infected inmates and jail guards are currently being managed and treated in a common facility inside the subprovincial jail.
Governor Edwin Ongchuan had provided assistance to the jail facility by giving additional food subsidy, vitamins and food supplements to all inmates and jail guards at the subprovincial jail, provincial information officer John Allen Berbon said.
“Last March, the facility allowed limited number of individuals who could visit the jail but when cases of COVID-19 in the region started to surge in June, the governor had advised to temporary suspend visitation rights,” he disclosed.
DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon said that they are looking at three possibility why COVID-19 infected the jail guards and the inmates.
Among the possible reasons were the arrival of new inmates, among jail guards and from those who visit the facility.
A team from their surveillance unit went to Laoang subprovincial jail last Thursday (Oct.15) to check and talk with the local government unit and jail officials on what assistance that they still need from the health agency to prevent the further spread of transmission. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Lighting project at San Juanico Bridge projected to result in mushrooming of business locators
TACLOBAN CITY – The lighting of the San Juanico Bridge will result in more economic activities in communities located near the iconic bridge.
Thus said Tourism Regional Director Karena Rosa Tiopes who said that they are projecting that more business establishments will mushroom in the area that could result to employment to the local people.
Among them are boat owners who reside in communities in Tacloban and Samar side of the bridge who can provide tourists boat rentals for those who want to see the lighting of San Juanico while at the sea.
“Actually, that is one of the possibilities that was already discussed, and this needs to be looked into for the safety of tourists,” Tiopes said.
“If there are locals who want to organized tours across San Juanico they need to be trained especially on the part of safety. There is nothing wrong with it for as long as they will be organized and trained,” she added.
Tiopes added that once a group is organized into a people organization, they can easily ask assistance from other government agencies for training, funding, and other assistance that they will be needing.
Currently only one tourism enterprise is providing activity at the bridge, the San Juanico Cruises, that provides not only a tour along San Juanico Strait and visits to some of the islets near San Juanico Bridge but also to tourist destinations along the coastlines in Marabut area.
Tiopes said that it used to be two but the other tour operators stopped their operations after their boats were destroyed by typhoon Ursula last December 2019.
The lighting of San Juanico Bridge is now more than 75 percent completed according to the Engr. Cris Dela Rea, lighting director of Amigo Entertainment Technologies Inc which handles the P80-million worth project.
The contractor is targeting to finish the project by end of November and will be turn over to the provincial government before Christmas.
The project was proposed in 2015 to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) by former Samar governor and now Rep. Sharee Ann Tan.
The project was target to be finished last May. However, due to restriction as effect of the current pandemic, works were temporary stopped and only resumed last August.
Rep. Tan, in a press statement, said that she is looking forward to the completion of the project and to the day that tourism activities will be back again for visitors to witness and experience the hospitality, culture, food and sites in Samar province.
“The COVID-19 had slowed our effort but just like our experience during Yolanda, we remain resilient and positive that this too shall pass,”she said.
Meanwhile, Governor Michael Tan said that the project reflects the aspiration of the province to become the niche in the tourism industry.
“As the light significantly reflects the aesthetic experience, it will also create a mood that will stimulate the mind and motivate our people to strive,” he said in a separate press statement. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Tacloban City records drop in dengue cases
TACLOBAN CITY-The number of dengue cases of this city dropped by 74 percent from 319 on January 1 to October 10, compared to 2,681 with 11 deaths in the same period last year, the City Health Office (CHO) disclosed in a report released on Wednesday.
Based on the data obtained from the dengue surveillance tracker, among the five villages here which were included in the list with the highest dengue cases as of October 10, Barangay 95 Caibaan tops the number of dengue infections with 16 dengue-afflicted individuals or 5.03 percent.
This was followed by Brgy. 62-B in Sagkahan with 15 cases, Brgy. 91 Abucay, 14; Brgy. 75 Naga-naga, 13, and Brgy. 74, 10.
Likewise, it was seen that 136 males were afflicted with the illness which is equivalent to 53.96 percent of the total number of cases that were documented. The age ranged from 1 month to 67 years old with a median of 33 years old.
Of the said figures, however, CHO said that no clustering of cases was noted, and only four deaths were recorded from morbidity week 1-41.
Meantime, despite the significant drop in cases this year, the public is still reminded not to be complacent and follow the 5S strategy to continuously decline the number along with the practice for infection prevention and control measures for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The 5S program emphasizes the search and destroy of possible breeding sites of dengue-carrier mosquitoes; self-protection measures like wearing long-sleeves and pants; and to seek early consultation if experiencing two days of fever; say yes to fogging only in hotspots where dengue cases are on the rise and sustain hydration.
Apart from the said campaign, the local health workers are encouraged to continue their efforts against dengue and other infection prevention, as well as reiterate the importance of community involvement in search and destroy operations to maintain the decrease of cases. (TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)